Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1887-11-05

The evil Is for those benighted ones who
will have none of it, seeing the light the
true believers worship, IA the fishes see the
stars, but dimly. The religions come and
the religions pass, and civilizations come
and pass, and naught endures but the
world and human nature. Ali il man
would but see that hope Is from within
and not from w~ithout-that he himself
must work out his own salvation! He is
there, and within him is the breath of life,
and a knowledge of good and evil. as good
and evil are to him. Thereon let him build
and stand erect, and not cast himself be-
fore the image Of some unknown God,
modelled like himself, but with q bigger
brain to think evil, and q longer arm to do
it,"
thought to myself-which shows how
old such reasoning is, being. indeed, one Of
the recurring quantities Of theological dis
c~ussion-that her argument sounded very
like some / la heard in the nineteenth
century, and in other places than the caves
of Kor, and with which, by the way, / per.
sonally disagree, but l did not care to try
and discuss the question with her. To be-
gin with, my mind was too weary with all
the emotions through which i had passed;
and in the second place, l knew that !
should get the worst Of it. 1t Is hard
enough to argue with an ordinary mater
ialist, who hurls statistics and whole strata
Of geological facts at your head, whilst
| you can only buffet him with deductions
and instincts and the snow fakes Of faith,
that are, alas, SO apt to melt in the hot
embers of our troubles. How little chance,
then, should have had against one whose
brain was systematically sharpened, and
vuJn hn1 ft~nf bnnSorI n va 80 avv~a~s4c-~
besides all manner of knowledge Of the
secrets Of nature at her command? Feel
ing that she would be more likely to con-
vert me than l should to convert her, !
thought it best to leave the matter alone,
md so sat silent. Many q time since then
have l bitterly regretted that | did SO, for
thereby / lost the only opportunity / can
remember having had of ascertaIning what
Ayesha really believed.
"Well. my Holly, art thou tired of me
already, that thou dost sit so silent9" she
said presently. with a little yawn. Faith
less mani And but half an hour since thou
vast upon thy k~nees-the posture does not
suit thee, Holly-swearing that thou didst
love me. What shall we do? Nay, i have
it. / will come and see this youth, the
Lion, as the old man Billali calls him, who
came with thee, and who is now SO sick.
The fever must nave run its course by
now, and if he Is about to die, / will re-
cover him. Fear not, my Holly, i shall
use no magic. Have / not told thee That
there is no such thing as magic; though
there is such a thing az understanding and
applying the forces which are in nature
Go now, and presently, when ave MADE
the drug ready, l will follow thee"
Nonnr1,nc1y 7 1r,1,,{ n,1r 10 Gnl rnh aud
Ustane in a great state Of grief, and declar.
ing that Leo was in the throes Of death,
and that they had been searching for me
everywhere. rushed to the couch. and
glanced at him. Clearly he was dying.
He was senseless, and breathing heavily,
but bis lips were quivering, and every now
and again a little shudder ran down his
frame. / knew enough Of doctoring to see
that in another hour he would be beyond
the reach of earthly help-perhaps in
another five minutes. How ] cursed my
~selfishness, and the folly that had kept me
lingering by Ayesha's side while my dear
boy lay dying! Alasl and alas! how easy
the best of us are lighted down to evil by
the CLEAN Of a woman's eyes! What q
wicked wretch was /! Actually for the
last half hour I had scarcely thought of
Leo, and this, be 1t remembered, of the
man who for twenty years had been my
dearest companion, and the one interest
of my existence. And now perhaps it was
too late!
/ wrung my hands and glanced round.
Ustane was sitting by the couch, and in
her eyes burned the dull light Of despair.
Job was blubbering-I am sorry / cannot
call his distress by any more delicate word
audi5ly in the corner. Seeing my eye fixed
upon him, he went outside to give way to
his grief in the passage. Obviously the
only hope lay In Ayesha. She, and she
~alone-unless indeed she was an impostor,
which could not believe-could ave him.
l would go and implore her to come. AS
/ started to do so, however, job came fly
ing into the room, his hair literally stand
ing on end with terror.
'Oh, God help us, STRIP he calculated in
a frightened whisper, heres a corpse
coming sliding down the PASSAGE"
For a moment / was puzzled. but pres
emily, Of course, it struck me that he must
have seen Ayesha, wrapped in her grave
like garment, and been deceived by the ex.
traordinary undulating smoothness OF her
walk into a belief that she was a white
ghost gliding toward him. Indeed, at that
very moment the question was settled, for
AyeSna nerSelI was In the apartment, or
rather cave. Job turned and saw her
sheeted form, and then, with a cOnvulsive
howl of Here it comes!' sprung into a
corner and damned his face against the
wall, and Ustane, guessing whose the dread
presence must be, FRUSTRATED herself upon
her face.
''Thou contest in a good time, Ayesha,"
1 said, "for my boy lies at the point Of
DEATH"
49," she said, softly; provided he be
not dead, it is no matter, for / can bring
him back to life, my Holly. Is that man
there thy servant? and is that the method
wherewith thy servants greet strangers in
thy country'"
"He = frightened Of thy garb, it hath o
death-like air." / answered.
She laughed.
"And the girl' Ali I see now. 1t is she
Of whom thou didst speak to me. Well,
bid them both to leave us, and we will see
to this sick lion of thine. i love not that
underl:ngs should perceive my wisdom"
Thereon l told Ustane in Arabic and Job
in English both to leave the room-an or
der which the latter obeyed readily enough,
and was glad to obey, for he could not in
any way subdue his fear. But it was 9TH
erwise with Ustane.
.sNhat does She wanryD she whispered.